This show is really about Adam West. His deadpan delivery and obliviousness to his own shortcomings (or maybe it's denial, tough to tell from just one episode) is really what fuels the comedy here. It's campy and hilarious, but it's mostly a specific type of humor and while there are some jokes that deviate from this basic strategy, the show is not a conventional sitcom (which relies heavily on one-liners). The show is about characterization, specifically that of Lookwell. If you see him interacting with someone for 30 seconds and don't find it funny, it's not for you. If you like West's portrayal as Mayor West on Family Guy, you'll probably find this pilot hilarious and I'd recommend trying to find it online.
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pfelon13 May 2006
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pml2_222 September 2006Sure, it's not for everyone. It probably won't make an impact on anyone that never sat through hours of Banacek, Mannix, Cannon, Rockford Files, Magnum PI, or the 30 or so "Quinn-Martin" productions mentioned in the pilot.
The deadpan delivery of Adam West as the likable, sad, washed-up actor is incredible. Why was he never given a chance after Batman? His portrayal of a man tempered by constant rejection, yet bravely holding on to dignity and hope that the next audition brings, is fascinating. Arthur Miller could not have done it better. Did I mention he's funny as hell, too? In today's terms, that character's name is Johnny Drama, instead of Lookwell. -
Fluke_Skywalker11 June 2017Plot; The star of a long cancelled detective show uses his ceremonial deputy status to help the police solve crimes.
With the passing of Adam West yesterday, I had planned to watch a two-parter of his classic Batman in tribute. But in reading about West I stumbled across an unsold pilot he starred in that was written and produced by Conan O'Brien and Robert Smigel. Over the years it's gained a cult status and is frequently mentioned as one of the best failed pilots of all-time. The pilot is called Lookwell, and if it's the glove, Adam West is the hand.
In the last 24 hours, much has been said about how deft West's portrayal of the Caped Crusader was. With material that plays on several levels, he gives a virtuoso performance that we're only now really beginning to appreciate. That touch is on full display in this consistently amusing and intermittently clever pilot with a premise that seems tailor made for a man of West's talents. Playing the loveably oblivious Ty Lookwell, he gets to don a variety of getups and is clearly enjoying himself.
This would've been a tough premise to keep up on a weekly basis, but we were sadly denied the opportunity to see Adam West display his unique talents in this equally unique show. -
Scott_Mercer8 July 2005A friend and former roommate and I just happened to be sitting around watching TV, not expecting anything special, when this came on. It was a pilot episode and NBC threw it on the air during the dead summer months. We were bowled over by the sense of humor, right in our ballpark. The stamp of O'Brien and Smigel, that we now are quite familiar with from over 10 years of watching them on Late Night, is all over this puppy.
Adam West plays an actor who played a 1970's TV detective, who thinks he's a real detective. That's about all you need to know, but the writing and acting really sell the show. One of the funniest ideas ever. My friend and I still talk about it from time to time. (Okay, fine, we're losers who have nothing else to talk about.)
It is one of the crimes of television history that NBC did not pick this up even for a 6 episode run. I've been thinking about trying to dig up a copy of this masterwork. When I try to describe it to people who haven't seen it, they just shrug and go "whatever," but I assure them that they are missing out on comedy gold.
Okay, maybe I'm overhyping it, but it sure is one of my favorite undeservedly obscure TV nuggets of all time. I put it up there next to "Quark" with Richard Benjamin. At least that one had 6 episodes. Somebody dig this up and put it as a bonus on a DVD of Late Night or something, would ya?
NOTE: As of late 2006, the show is readily available on several different internet video sites for viewing. Apparently the show made an appearance on the late lamented Trio cable network within the past 5 years, and some people recorded it. Catch it if you can. -
hcmcb4-127 September 2005Some time ago, the cable network TRIO aired the pilot for LOOKWELL as part of its "Brilliant But Cancelled" series. I TiVoed it and have watched it many times since.
Ty Lookwell is the role Adam West was born to play, which is good as it clearly was written for him. The writing plays to West's strengths as a comedian, particularly his surreal delivery of lines that no one else could say without cracking up.
It might have been exhausting to keep this going week after week, but I sure would have liked to see them try.
Someone should assemble a "great unsold pilots" DVD series; LOOKWELL could certainly headline the comedy edition. -
I have seen Lookwell (the television show) which was canceled years ago without it been given a chance by NBC. Let me tell you that this show would have been bigger than Seinfeld, Married With Children, ER, Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, Super Bowl VI, The Larry Sanders Show, Live With Regis and Kelly, Dallas, and Live With Emeril Lagasse COMBINED. OK, maybe I'm exaggerating, but Lookwell was the funniest thing I've ever seen. To my pleasant surprise I found out, right on this web site, who wrote the script for Lookwell. It was a young Conan O'Brien AND the guy who does the voice for Triumph The Insult Dog (Robert Smigel). I just pray that that show, the little of it that was recorded, becomes available on video so that I can buy it. People this was FUNNY with a capitol T. Americans should be making long lines in Macys department stores all across America to kiss Conan O'Brien's, Robert Smigel's, and Adam West's ass. No animals were hurt during the making of this memo. Enough of this, let me go make a sandwich. Sincerely kneeling FrankPenab@AOL.com
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ripplinbuckethead22 April 2005I saw this show today and was highly entertained! The writing is excellent (I wasn't surprised, knowing O'Brien and Smigel were involved) and Adam West was as great as ever. The type of storytelling here isn't exactly new, but with the writing and the ever-likable West, it really worked. Too bad the networks didn't agree.
So, how about now? Would this show work now if they did it again? I'm sure Mr. West would be willing to give it another go, and if it was on NBC, well, they need all the help they can get right now and this is the kind of show that could help them get out of their 4th place rut, if only to a small degree. I know I would love to see this cult hit resurrected!
Random thought: if The Max Weinberg 7 played the Lookwell theme as Conan went to his desk and he didn't know about it, I wonder if he'd recognize it? -
Scatchard11 December 2002This pilot for a tv show is the funniest 30 minutes I have ever seen. Adam West is perfectly cast as a hasbeen actor who used to star on a detective show back in the 70s who now thinks he can fight crime.
If anyone has this on tape let me know. I would love to see this again. -
penelopedanger17 December 2004"Lookwell" is the thinking man's "Police Squad," a fiercely funny sendup of the TV detective genre. It's a national tragedy that NBC execs pulled the plug. Adam West's deadpan delivery is so slyly self parodying that at times you wonder if he was in on the joke.
O'Brien and Smigel manage to drop in references to nearly every Quinn Martin 70s police drama while at the same time weaving a bitterly hilarious ode to the chew-em-up, spit-em-out world of Hollywood TV actors who go from being essential pop-culture icons to unemployable has-beens in what seems like weeks.
Often overlooked in glowing tributes to "Lookwell" is the work of longtime television director E. W. Swackhamer, a veteran of the very shows "Lookwell" parodies, who imbues every frame with the dead-serious crime-fighting authenticity of "Tenspeed and Brownshoe" and "S.W.A.T." One imagines the mighty O'Brien could feasibly get "Lookwell" back in production, and he should do so at once. An essential piece of television. -
My husband saw a clip from this on the Adam West Bio and
hunted it down on eBay. It was worth every cent, and actually gets
funnier every time I watch it. It's obvious, if you know and
appreciate Conan OBrien's sense of humor, that he had a good
hand in the writing. Adam West is perfectly cast and for those of
you who thought he had no sense of humor about himself...just
watch. Words can't do it justice... down to the last detail, this pilot is
hilarious and if I think for too long about the fact it didn't get picked
up, I wnt to bang my head against the wall (or bette yet, bang some
network exec who makes these genius decisions against a wall).
I defy anyone with a sense of humor to sit through this without
giglling uncontrollably in the first 5 minutes (at least once).
10/10 stars. Hunt it down or wait till it's on Trio again...it's worth it,
trust me. -
DarthVoorhees24 July 2017'Lookwell' is the legendary cult pilot which offers a glimpse into the comedic writing of Conan O Brien and Robert Smigel as they are developing their genius. 'Lookwell' is a lot of good ideas that I think awkwardly are meshed into the generic sitcom formula. Everything I've read about 'Lookwell' shouts that it was a victim of being ahead of it's time. I'll agree with that assessment. The problem is though that I think the sitcom prevents 'Lookwell' from utilizing Smigel's and Conan's talents. Conan was always at his height when he created odd detached characters in a heightened frenzy showcased around a comparatively bland normal world on a slower speed. Adam West is perfect for this material. He is the true draw to 'Lookwell'. I think in order to have done this right, you had to have fleshed out the world more. Everything else here is just overwhelmed by West. We have no benchmark to compare the absurdity of this character to.
The problem with 'Lookwell' is that they are infatuated with Adam West. There's a great reason because he is perfect for the part. Adam West was brilliant at self parody and probably did so more than any other actor. The problem is you can't just have West self monologue the entire time. He is funnier when he glaringly stands out. And so while West is fantastic there is nothing to compare him to. No one else is really given anything to do in 'Lookwell'. I think you really needed to develop the characters of the real police officers a little more for this to work. You needed some interplay between them to distinguish how fake Ty Lookwell really is.
I may be projecting my own wishes on the project but 'Lookwell' should have definitely gone darker. I think Smigel and O'Brien where too much in awe of West to make fun of him enough. You see there's a difference between being mean to the character and being mean to West. Adam West is always going to have dignity. Wouldn't it have been so much funnier if Lookwell's delusions were actually capable of hurting people? Isn't it a little too much of a convenience for Lookwell's investigations to actually end like an episode of 'Bannigan' instead of only a delusion of ending like an episode of 'Bannigan?
The crime is far too absurd and convoluted too. O'Brien and Smigel should have actually consulted with a crime or mystery writer. The whole story about cars being stolen and re purposed leaves too much exposition especially in a pilot where precious time is needed to develop your characters and world.
'Lookwell' is a great seed of an idea. I think 90's television had no chance of making it work. It'd be an interesting movie or cable show now but you have lost so much of it's charm with the passing of Adam West. -
tommovies25 December 2007Having just watched this absolute GEM HOW COULD IT NOT BE PICKED UP !!!!!! It is exceptionally rare for me to find a program that is laugh out loud funny - but this is it!!! Adam West was born to play this role The sheer absurdity of the deductive process is fantastic. If only I had the capacity to commission the series myself!!!! This could have been family guy!!! Any chance Conan and friends could be persuaded to try and resurrect this one?
Turning up to the audition dressed as the character was inspired. Could have cameo appearances from Burt ward, get teamed up with Leslie Nielsen.
Definitely an opportunity missed by the networks here in my opinion -
I finally just saw Lookwell after years of hearing about how brilliant and funny it is.
It's simply neither. It is mildly amusing, and because it is 22 minutes it is bearable, but that's it. I really don't understand what all the hype is about. Maybe because it is so obscure, people feel like they've stumbled onto a hidden gem? Because of Adam West? O'Brien and Smigel? It's just not very funny.
That is all I had to say but not this web page is saying I do not meet the minimum number of lines of text. So I am writing this. I'd recommend you ignore this text. Why would a comment area want users to have a minimum number of lines of text?
It's as idiotic as Lookwell. -
obiwan20056 June 2001Of course every one knows him as the campyist Batman ever. But this is 1,000 better than Batman. West plays a retired T.V. detective who, 20 years after his show is cancelled, decides to enter the Private Investigator business for real.( he uses a honorary crimefighter badge he got in 1972). He goes on these zainy escapades trying to solve mysteries. You got to watch it to appriciate it. The executive Producer was Conan O'Brian.
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allbell11 February 2010I located and watched this show because I'm a fan of Adam West's Batman, Conan O'Brien and Robert Smigel. Now that I've seen it, I can understand why people tend to either love it or hate it.
The premise is great, Adam West is great, and the Lookwell character is hilariously annoying and genuinely noble at the same time.
The clash between the luxury show business side of Los Angeles and the regular, scruffy side is great, too.
The actors seem to be well cast, but one issue is that, in some cases, they do stage-y, sketch comedy style acting instead of regular TV show acting.
I think a bigger problem is that the script isn't structured all that well. There are too many different characters who get about the same amount of screen time, and suspense doesn't build the way it should.
It looks as if neither this show nor Andy Barker, PI has a story editor. It seems to me that a good, experienced story editor would have ideas for ways to make shows like these hold together better. -
"Lookwell" is a wonderful television pilot which starred Adam West and yet somehow the networks passed on it. It's a real shame, as the show was hilarious and the premise very exciting.
Adam West plays 'Ty Lookwell'...a guy who used to be a TV star long ago. In this old show, he used to be a terrific cop...and, amazingly, he thinks this somehow makes him a perfect real life criminologist and crime fighter!
So what did I love about this pilot? Well, it was a combination of excellent writing and Adam West's terrific delivery. You can see a bit of this strangeness from West when he sometimes guest starred on "The Fairly Odd Parents"...weird, self-deprecating and funny.
If you are curious about this pilot, check it out on YouTube....last I checked, it was still there. -
Horst_In_Translation3 February 2016"Lookwell" is a 23-minute live action short film that was initially intended as the pilot episode for a new series, but never got picked up. The star here is probably writer Conan O'Brien, even if the director and co-writer both also have a history with the Emmy. Lead actor is Adam West many years after starring as Batman in the cult television show. Here he plays a former television star who apparently learned a lot about being a detective and about crime while he acted in his series. However, now unemployed and not getting new work in front of the camera, he becomes an actual detective and starts solving cases with the knowledge he acquired. This is probably 75% comedy and 25% drama, but to me it did not really work so well for both areas. I cannot say that I really laughed while watching this. This is also why I am a bit baffled by the short film's rating here on IMDb. Not recommended.
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bkstruhl29 November 2006You would not have thought it possible for a comedy to have every joke it makes fall flat on its face. Lookwell is funny in the same way a really drunk guy who can't walk or speak properly but is trying really hard to do both is funny. It is indeed laughable, but only in its complete ineptitude, its remarkable ability to fail so thoroughly and consistently on every level.
My only possibly guess as to why so many people say they like this film is that they are the sort who, when seeing a comedian bomb horribly and terribly at a comedy club to the point of being booed off the stage, find this incredibly amusing. Or perhaps imagine this: imagine a comedian so unfunny that people cannot grasp the depths of his unfunny, and therefore convince themselves that he is must be intentionally trying to lampoon the whole concept of humor, although this is not the case.
Here's food for thought: Now everyone I know who has seen this video has a new word--Lookwell, v. To lookwell is to try really hard to be funny and to fail. -
movieman_kev12 September 2005It's easy to see why this failed pilot didn't get a chance to become a series. Adam West's character Ty Lookwell seemed too one-not to me to every career a series (we get it he's an actor who played a detective in the past and now believes he can be a real detective, but is an idiot), and the writing by the usually capable and very funny Conan O'Brian and Robert Smigal falls flat here, I hardly cracked a smile. IMDb reviewers tend to look at any failed pilot like if it got the green-light for a series would be pure gold. Well guess what, not ALL failed pilots are gold, not even most. I'd wager a VERY few handful. THIS show is not one of those.
My Grade: D-